Michael had agreed with Leisa that they should check if her hunch that it was Ragnar who was messing with Anna’s mind was true, and had even accompanied her on her trip to see, mentally anyway.

Leisa observed Anna for a while before David arrived and realised that while she was right and it was Ragnar who was in the girl’s head Anna was gaining a little ground against him. Which was impressive – Ragnar had overwhelmed some very strong minds in his time. If Anna could fight Ragnar like this then she had Leisa’s respect.

She watched as the girl managed to fight back and warn David about what was happening to her. That was…

It’s pretty impressive. Her mind reminds me of my son’s when he was her age, Michael said. He was resilient to mind control attempts as well.

Your son? But… Leisa trailed off as she followed his train of thought. Oh dear. She was about to comment further when the booby trap Ragnar had left in Anna’s mind went off. When David tried to help and took his inadvertent trip into Anna’s mind Leisa used it as a chance to cover her own tracks by following him in.

While the two hunters were fighting Ragnar’s traps Leisa avoided them carefully and headed straight for the controls he had placed. She surveyed them quickly and then ripped out as many as she could. Which was not all of them unfortunately.

When David was violently ejected from Anna’s mind Leisa withdrew with him was and scanned his mind to see if he was damaged. Fortunately he had done a better job of shielding himself than he realised. That bomb had been set to kill and he would just have a major headache.

And she had put David in even more danger, she realised miserably. She’d hidden her own fingerprints in David’s trail, so Ragnar would never know that anyone else had been there. And if she knew Ragnar at all he’d be furious enough to target David. Leisa would have to protect him.

It was the right thing to do, Michael reassured her. You had to get those controls out and David was already in danger simply from being in proximity to Anna.

And if Ragnar had sensed my mental fingerprints in her mind he had have killed her out of hand and fled. I am not losing this chance, Leisa said. I do know that but I don’t have to be happy about it.

What are you going to do now? Michael asked.

Given that I need to keep a close eye on David I think I might take my car to garage where he works. It’s started playing up again and I’d like to see if he is a better mechanic than he is a hunter. Damn I feel like I am stalking the poor kid.

Well you are aren’t you? Michael’s amusement had a edge to it which made her wince and swallow.

You’re making me feel guilty.

Not enough to stop, he replied. You’re impossible when you get like this. But is that safe? What if he-

He won’t rig it if that’s what you mean. Someone else might get hurt and he wouldn’t do that. He’ll probably try something though. Vampire proofing maybe. We’ll see.

* * *

When David reached the garage his employer was trying to talk to a man. Trying was the operative word since the prospective customer spoke little English. He looked relieved when David came in. “David, do you speak Spanish?”

David shook his head. “Just French and German and neither of those very well. Want me to try those?”

“Please.”

The man’s French was a little better than his English and they soon learnt his name, but trying to ascertain what the problem with his car was or if he even had a car was painfully slow going. Every so often Mr Sanchez would drop back into Spanish without meaning to and David knew that he did the same with English. He was about to give up when a familiar voice spoke up.

“He says that the wheel has fallen off the car which he borrowed from his friend.” David looked up and was startled to see the blonde vampire standing at the entrance. “It’s about a 100 meters away around the corner. He wants to know how much it will cost to have it brought in and fixed.” She smiled at David when he managed not to shudder at the sight of her standing there. Hello, David.

“You speak Spanish, Miss…” His boss trailed off, waiting for her to fill in her name.

“Leisa Winters,” she supplied and extended her hand. “I lived in Spain for a while when I was younger. And while you’re at it could you look at the ignition on my car? The ignition seems to be playing up and the last garage I went to couldn’t find anything wrong. It took me ages to get it to start this morning and it’s not exactly cold at the moment.

“Certainly.” His boss shook her hand. “David, you take a look at Miss Winters car and I’ll deal with Mr Sanchez. Could I possibly impose on you to act as a translator Miss Winters?”

“Of course.” She smiled at them and David realised that he couldn’t see her fangs. Well, of course not. silly boy, they’d be rather conspicuous if they didn’t retract, not to mention making it hard to talk.

David fumed quietly as he headed to her car. She thought this was funny? They’d see how funny it was when she couldn’t get into her car. But first he had to fix whatever was wrong with it.

He was just examining the spark plugs when a beeping from his pocket alerted him to the fact he had a text. He pulled his mobile out and looked at it. It was from Tanya. “Dave, come round to my place this evening after work. I want to talk to you without Anna there.” He frowned at it, sent an affirmative text and then returned to the car. The starter motor was okay, and the previous mechanic had changed the spark plugs so it was most likely an electrical fault. He tracked the problem down and fixed it, then he checked the car started first time and hung a blessed rosary from the mirror. What would she do, he wondered. He was willing to bet that she would not make a fuss in such a public place.

He headed into the waiting area and found her chatting to Mr Sanchez.

“It was an intermittant wiring fault,” David said. “It’s all fixed now.”

“Thank you.” She paid with a credit card in the name she had given. He wondered if it was really hers or she had stolen it from a victim. She obviously heard the thought because she cast a scowl at him over her shoulder as she walked to her car.

Of course it’s mine. Her mental tone was indignant. Though I’ll confess to giving a false date of birth. She got into her car and heard peels on mental laughter. I thought you might try something like that, David. I need a new mirror ornament. Thank you.